fredag 18. mars 2011

Martinique

Just a short update on our whereabouts: We are now in Martinique which means we have entered the European Union again! Our friends on Ypake were here already, and had invited us to Pilis 10th birthday! Of course we couldn't miss the occation and headed out from Rodney Bay in northern St. Lucia just before noon. We had left Marigot Bay the day before, as we wanted to visit Pigeon Island before leaving St. Lucia. This is a National Park in the northwestern corner of the island and includes ruins of military installations from earlier days. We also learnt that the first European settler on St. Lucia stayed here. He was a pirate called Francois Leclerc or "Wooden Leg". The former island is now connected to the rest of St. Lucia via a landfilled area. The landscape is mainly two volcanic peaks which should provide a perfect spot for anyone wanting to overlook the waters.Anyway, now we are in Martinique. Le Marin is a huge yacht harbour and as such it doesn't seem very authentic Caribbean.. So Stein and I took a trip with the local buses yesterday, to see what more there is to see. Ingeborg and Thorstein both prioritised studying and to be with the Ypake kids. But we visited Fort de France and walked around a little. Looked into the old library which is both a sightseeing spot and functioning as a public library. Otherwise the waterfront is very nice, and the new dock should make it very convenient to arrive in your dinghy from the anchorage in the bay. We went on to see more of the inland, chosing a bus bound for the village Francois. The weather turned quite rainy so it wasn't very nice, but we got to see some of the big banana plantations they have here! We guess they benefit from being within EU borders and thereby have access to the European market. We have been told that the islands further south have given up growing bananas due to problems with market access. By the way, the bustickets were a lot more expensive here than further south. More like European prices.. And the roads here also hold European standard which is more than you can say about roads in any of the places we've been since crossing the Atlantic!Tomorrow we plan to continue to Dominica. There are no good harbours there according to what we have heard and read, but we hope for the best. Just a good spot to anchor and a calm day or two..